#14 Throwin' a Baby Shower

Well, this was a first for me.  I've thrown lingerie shower/ bachelorette party deals before, but never have I thrown or even helped with a baby shower.  So, Sunday, was my first. 

My dear friend Oriona, had a baby while she was living overseas.  Once her family moved back to the states, I threw her a shower.  The baby was only a month old, so the perfect age for everyone to oogle over him, and not too late to throw a baby shower.

We had onesies to decorate, food to eat, a baby to love on, and a mommy to shower with diapers and clothes.  I can't really judge the success of the shower, since I wasn't the mommy.  Plus, I always want things to go off just as I expect it to.  But, this rarely happens.  But, no matter what, we got to spend time together, give some gifts, and see a sweet new baby.  So, I call that a success.

#13 Credit as a Married Lady

In September, I will be married for 2 years.  After our honeymoon, I changed my name, my ss card, and my driver's license.  We opened joint bank accounts using my married name.  However, I failed to change my name on my credit card.  I planned to do it, but decided it was too much work.  I continued to use my card, and when they would ask to see my ID, I would show it to them, and let them know I still had my maiden name on my credit card.  I have done this for almost 2 years.  Although it worked well for me, it doesn't give me much confidence in the safety of my credit card, should it be stolen by another Nicole.

Next month, my credit card expires.  And, I've decided I want a card with miles, so I can afford to visit friends or family a little more often.  So, this week, I received my new credit card, with miles (or other rewards if I choose to use it that way), with my legal married name on it.  It's great to sign my name on the receipt, and not have to try to remember which name I'm supposed to sign.  I also went online, and ordered my cute card with popsicles on it!

#12 Falling Asleep to the TV

I've always been against having a TV in the bedroom.  But, my husband is one that enjoys faling asleep watching TV.  I go to bed earlier than he likes to.  So, often, I end up going to bed alone, since he isn't tired yet.  And, sometimes he ends up falling asleep on the couch, watching TV.

So, I decided I would rather have a TV in my room than go to bed alone.  I found some money that I had left over from my Christmas bonus (don't you love it when that happens?), and decided I was using it for a TV.

I got a small flat screen TV.  I figured a 19 inch TV was a fair compromise size, since I didn't really want a TV at all.  I set it up while Brandon was gone, and surprised him with it when he got home.  I even got a little sleeping mask and ear plugs, so that it won't bother me, when I'm ready to go to sleep.

                

#11 A New Place To Sleep

At the young age of two, I was plopped onto a waterbed.  A little bitty on a big queen size waterbed.  It was the reject pieces of two beds my parents had put together to make a cool master bed.  At the time of my parents divorce, I ended up with the master bed with the drawers and cabinets.  It was stuffed into my little bedroom in our town home.  It has been with me all this time, moving from house to house.  Of all my time at home, I slept on a different bed a few times, but probably totalled only 3 years not sleeping  in my waterbed.

When I got married, my waterbed moved in with my husband and I.  However, a waterbed isn't quite as comfortable when a tiny girl marries a man twice her size.  Not too evenly distributed.

Soo.......we got a new bed.  Since I'm so picky, we went the memory foam route (soy based as to keep us from all the chemicals that are put into some memory foam beds).  And, to top it off, we got a king size mattress!

I remember when I was little, still in our little town house.  My brother and I (who is no longer alive), climbed in a big box, on my waterbed.  We rocked back and forth singing some sailing song we made up.  We rocked and rocked until he hit his head and my mom made us stop.  This is one of my favorite memories of him.  Now, the bed sits in my basement, in pieces, likely waiting to be donated.  Maybe a little girl can sit in a box and sail with her big brother.




The old bed                                                 The new bed

#10 Wheeling Away

One of the many things I have on my "I want to do that list" is learn how to do pottery.  Like, on a wheel, with clay.  Lucky for me, I finally got to do it!  Kelly invited me to go with her to pottery at a "local" rec center.  Kelly took classes and goes every week, so I was a bit nervous about being clueless.  However, Kelly is also an art teacher, so she's used to be better than other people at this sort of thing.

I was lucky enough that Kelly shared her clay with me, so I only had to pay $10 for the 3 hours on the wheel.  Plus, the man that worked there....David, I think....sat down with me individually and taught me what to do.  Not bad for 10 bucks!

It definitely wasn't easy.  There's a lot of upper body strength involved.  But, I saw progress with each thing I made!  I ended up with 3 things, and David told me I was a natural.  Was it true, that I don't know.  It was super fun.  Unfortunately, I still have to go back and trim my pieces, get them fired and glazed, so I don't have any pictures to put up.  I guess that's something off of my "bucket list," and I think I will even continue to do it!